


Sometimes Life is What Happens When You're Not Looking

by ximeria



Series: 2014 Fic-A-Week (all the XMFC AUs) [3]
Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Blind Date, Celebrity Crush, First Kiss, M/M, Mutant Rights, Smitten Erik
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-19
Updated: 2014-01-19
Packaged: 2018-01-09 07:29:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1143203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ximeria/pseuds/ximeria
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Erik's had a busy week and he's not at all happy about going to the fundraiser (even if it is important and pro-mutant). He's also more than a little worried that Mystique took care of his 'plus one'.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sometimes Life is What Happens When You're Not Looking

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Deutsch available: [Sometimes Life is What Happens When You're Not Looking - Manchmal ist das Leben das, was passiert, wenn man nicht hinsieht](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2632136) by [marryoftheblood](https://archiveofourown.org/users/marryoftheblood/pseuds/marryoftheblood)



> Unlike the previous stories in the series, I didn't get this wee idea from the image generator - simply from walking to work one morning and cooking this up. Although I've seen plenty of pictures of these to gentlemen in well fitting suits and they have all probably fueled this idea *g*

Erik should have known better. He should have known better than letting Mystique go on and on, while only paying a fraction of the attention necessary.

"Erik, remember that brother of mine I hadn't been talking to for years?"

"Uh-huh."

"Remember I'm talking to him again?"

"Uh-huh."

"Remember you wanted a plus one for the fundraiser on Friday?"

"Uh-huh."

"We agree you need someone who can hold his or her own?"

"Uh-huh."

"And you'd prefer it to be a he?"

"Uh-huh."

"Great."

Erik had looked up and stared at the closing door for a moment, then had shaken his head and gone back to the reports on the pending registration act.

Friday night, half past six, he was beginning to see the problem with his previous bout of inattention. Especially when he nodded to the doorman of his building, exited the door he was holding open for Erik, and came to a dead stop at the lovely black limo parked outside.

Apparently waiting for him, if the chauffeur opening the door for him was any indication. Maybe Mystique had rented it for him?

The chauffeur, a young, tall and dark skinned man, waited for Erik to enter. Which Erik did, slipping inside; at once noticing the understated luxury of the inside and the fact that a young man was sitting across from him, dressed in all black. Black suit, black tie, black shirt and making it _work_ , damn it. 

"Erik Lehnsherr, I presume?" the man said, the shadow of a grin lifting the corners of his mouth.

And at this point more than a few things crystallized in Erik's mind. One; this guy was a looker, and Erik would have to compliment Mystique on netting him this gorgeous date. Two; the guy was holding out a glass of champagne for him as Erik settled into the seat across from him.

Three. Fuck, fuck, fuck, was all Erik could think as he accepted the glass and sat back.

His date frowned, then barely managed to hide a grin behind his hand. "Ah, Raven didn't tell you - the little minx." Leaning back in his seat, he sipped his champagne with great delight.

No, his right hand hench...woman had failed him in this major way, and she'd done it on purpose, damn it. She'd set him up with her own brother without telling him that… Fuck!

"Charles Xavier," Charles offered, a soft look of understanding on his face. "I can understand that Raven only set this up and did not tell you with whom."

"She said formerly estranged brother," Erik managed to get out, before knocking back the glass of champagne and nearly choking on it.

"Easy," Charles said, taking the glass from him before he could drop it. "She told me you'd played a great part in getting her to contact me again. So when she said you were in need of a male piece of, as she put it, 'arm candy', I took little convincing."

"I thought…" Erik winced and sank further into the comfortable seat, trying not to flush and stutter. "I thought you were in the UK."

Charles hummed, sat back and put Erik's glass aside before sipping from his own. "I had an interview at Columbia yesterday - I have been asked to do two terms as lecturer there and they wanted to know if I would be amenable to running a few workshops and lectures on Mutant rights as well."

Erik took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," he managed, "I didn't mean to freak out when I recognized you."

Charles shrugged. "I'm more used to the reservedness of the Brits, true, but I assure you, I consider your reaction a compliment, though I am really just a man like you."

Erik wanted to argue that, but wasn't sure how. He hadn't known that Mystique's brother was _the_ Charles Xavier. "You were instrumental in the laws in Britain and later the EU that protect the rights of Mutants."

"It was a law of equality I was working for," Charles said evenly. "Not just for Mutants, but for everyone."

Erik shook his head. "You're a legend. You're not a politician, yet you changed everyone's opinion."

Charles laughed without much mirth. "No, I'm not a politician, nor a lobbyist, but I don't think the British government knew quite what they were getting into when they asked for my opinion. And I didn't change everyone's mind - just the majority." He frowned. "Not that I _changed_ their minds…"

He scrunched up his face in a way that Erik couldn't even tell himself he didn't find terribly endearing.

"I know what you mean," Erik said quietly. "Did they really make you wear a collar?"

"For the sessions where I _could_ have influenced the politicians?" Charles asked. "Yes. It was necessary."

"It shouldn't have been," Erik muttered. He'd followed a lot of those sessions on webcam when they had happened. The US media had been very silent on the process, but the internet had been ripe with links and videofeeds. For every youtube vid that was blocked or taken down, two new ones would pop up shortly.

"You're right," Charles agreed, a soft smile on his face. "But enough about me," he said dismissively. "Raven's told me a lot about you since we started talking again. I'm actually quite glad to go with you to this fundraiser. It sounds like a very good cause."

"It is," Erik said, still reeling from realizing who his date was. "I mean, it's a small gathering compared to…"

Charles held up a hand. "Every little helps."

Erik nodded. Cocking his head, he watched Charles for a moment. Damn, but he man was better looking than what he'd seen online and on TV. "When the media here learns of your plans to teach here, they'll go crazy," Erik warned him. He could just see it. The US government would be wary and worry because no one apparently lobbied quite as well as Xavier did. Whether he considered himself a lobbyist or not.

Charles laughed out loud. "I'm just a professor - the fact that I have an opinion shouldn't surprise anyone."

"They'll consider you dangerous," Erik said, trying not to smile too widely. Raven always told him he'd scare people off when he grinned openly.

"Please don't hold back on smiling for my sake," Charles said softly. "I didn't mean to read that but…"

Erik shook his head. "Surface thoughts, I take it." He wasn't all that surprised. He'd butted heads with Emma often enough.

Charles nodded. "And I'll repeat, please feel free to smile however widely you'd like in my company." The latter was added with a wink.

Erik wondered if Charles was flirting with him. The smirk that netted him was more than answer enough.

The night was… magnificent. Erik had dreaded the fundraiser. All the brown nosing, all the hemming and hawing and trying to make the right connections were things that generally annoyed him.

He'd even forgiven Mystique for keeping Charles a secret from him, because in the end he proved to be a fantastic asset. If Erik had ever imagined this scenario or any like it (and he hadn't - nope, not ever, because he didn't daydream about men he couldn't have), he would never have imagined this. The fact that Charles Xavier was his plus one apparently opened doors. Doors he hadn't even known existed. People were talking to him, taking him seriously. Not that they hadn't before, but he'd always felt like he hadn't had the right boost to make everyone take notice.

They surely were tonight. At first simply by his companion being there, then they'd noticed Erik and from there… well, the rest of the evening was history. Erik wasn't sure he'd ever talked this much or made so many new contacts and connections in one night.

By schmoozing.

 _'Nothing wrong with taking an opportunity and turning it your advantage,'_ Charles told him, as they waited for the valet to call the limousine around to pick them up.

 _'It wouldn't have worked without your prompts and your knowledge,'_ Erik replied, still a little awestruck and a lot tired. Most of the people they'd met, Erik had known of, but Charles had added tidbits and information that Erik hadn't known, giving him an edge Erik had not before felt like he'd had with these people.

 _'Growing up with the 'nobility' of New York was never a thing I considered an asset,'_ Charles shared. _'So I'm glad someone got something out of it finally.'_

Getting into the limo, this time Erik slipped into the seat next to Charles. He'd only thought of it for a moment, then taken the chance. It wasn't like Charles hadn't been flirting with him outrageously all night, seemingly happy to be Erik's arm candy. And he was rewarded with a warm smile as Charles settled beside him.

"Ah, a counter move is made," Charles mumbled, slipping an arm around Erik's waist.

"An answer," Erik said quietly, "You've been flirting with me all night."

"Raven really didn't do you justice when she said you were good looking and that I'd enjoy myself," Charles replied. "And yes, I've been flirting. Do you mind?"

"Your pickup lines aren't terribly good," Erik said with a grin. By now he felt like he'd known Charles for ages. "But the rest I'm more than fine with."

"I know," Charles said with a sigh. "Do they need to be all that good for this?"

Erik shook his head. "Before tonight I would have never thought I'd get a chance to talk shop with Professor X, let alone flirt," he added, slipping a hand along Charles' back, now sure it was welcome. And even if he hadn't known, the way Charles leaned into the touch was a pretty good indication that…

 _'You're more than welcome to touch,'_ Charles told him, his soundless laughter sending a wave of warmth through Erik's mind.

"Why, thank you," Erik murmured, running his other hand from Charles' knee to his hip.

Charles drew in a sharp breath and Erik couldn't help grinning.

"Challenge acknowledged and accepted," Charles said with a huff of laughter, fingers curling around the lapel of Erik's jacket, yanking him forward to kiss him.

Erik met him halfway and the kiss was anything but chaste. _'Your place or mine?'_

Charles moaned into his mouth before pulling back, nipping teasingly at Erik's lower lip. "I haven't had the time to open up the old house in Westchester, would take too long anyway. Have a hotel…" he trailed off, tilting his head to the side to helpfully accommodate Erik as he licked his way down Charles' neck.

"My place then," Erik told him, letting him read the address from his mind. Apparently Charles was taking care of letting the chauffeur know, because a moment later, the car turned and Erik could feel how they moved closer to his own home.

"Brilliant," Charles mumbled, busy unbuttoning Erik's shirt. "You can feel the metal of your building from here."

Erik rolled his eyes, but he was not going to argue with his gorgeous date who also happened to find find his mutation…

"Groovy."

Erik snorted and silenced Charles with his lips and stuck his hand down the front of Charles' pants. Time for a well executed intervention before Charles got around to even more outdated comments and bad pickup lines.

The End


End file.
